HOUSTON — Fourteen players from the Houston Astros are set to represent seven different countries and territories in the 2023 World Baseball Classic.
Rosters were revealed Thursday night for the international tournament. Out of the 14, six of them will represent the Dominican Republic.
2022 World Series MVP and Astros shortstop Jeremy Peña will headline the Dominican squad along with Astros pitchers Bryan Abreu, Ronel Blanco, Cristian Javier, Rafael Montero and Hector Neris. Blanco is currently in the designated pitcher pool but could be added to the active roster later.
Two Astros each will represent the United States and Venezuela. Pitcher Ryan Pressly and outfielder Kyle Tucker will be on the American squad, while pitcher Luis Garcia and second baseman Jose Altuve will don the yellow, blue and red.
Lastly, pitcher José Urquidy will play for Mexico and catcher Martín Maldonado will suit up for Puerto Rico.
The Astros will also have two minor leaguers playing in the tournament with southpaw pitcher Colton Gordon playing for Israel and pitcher Derek West playing for the Netherlands.
Several coaches for the Astros will also be part of the tournament. Omar López will manage Venezuela and will be joined on staff by Javier Bracamonte, who willl serve as their bullpen coach.
Alex Cintrón will serve as the hitting coach for Puerto Rico, while Michael Collins will coach for Australia. Finally, Astros strength and conditioning coach Hazael Wessin will serve in that same capacity for the Dominicans.
The World Baseball Classic begins on March 7.
